Help Needed: Unlocking an EE Phone

[lilalur]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on unlocking a Sony Xperia XZ Premium that’s still tied to EE. I bought it second-hand from CeX in 2019, and I have the original receipt and a bank statement as proof. I recently tried to get EE to unlock it so my daughter can use it.

However, when I called EE support, they told me I had to “find the original owner” and wouldn’t help me because I’m not an active EE customer. A supervisor even refused to speak with me.

From what I’ve read, Ofcom rules say providers must unlock phones for second-hand owners if you can prove legitimate ownership (which I can), but so far EE won’t budge. I tried calling them twice, and the same thing happened each time.The online unlock tool initially sent me an email confirming my request was accepted, but now it’s stuck in a loop—if I check my IMEI again, it still shows as locked and I can’t progress any further.

I’m hoping to avoid a lengthy 8-week complaints process because I’d like my daughter to be able to call me and her mum from school. Has anyone else managed to get EE to unlock a phone while not being an EE customer, but with proof of purchase?

Is there a faster route than waiting 8 weeks for a formal complaint/ADR? It feels like I have every right to request this unlock, and I’m not sure why EE is pushing back. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much in advance!

[XRaySpeX]

@lilalur : Do you want the phone unlocked to be able to use on any network or is its IMEI blacklisted? It's only if it's blacklisted that it can only be freed by the original owner.

[Chris_B]

@lilalur   Does a EE SIM card work in the device?  this is very important to know.  Because if it doesn’t the device is blacklisted so it’s been reported lost/stolen and because of that it’s blocklisted so it’ll never work on any network.  and EE don’t  have remove the blacklisting because you have a receipt from a 3rd party shop.    For all you know the device was sold so one someone could claim on insurance if that’s the case the device actually belongs to that insurance provider.  

 If a EE sim does work in it then yes it can be network unlocked at your request.  And EE do not have to have that request from the original owner.  

[Chris_B]

@lilalur  You can check the blacklisting via 

https://imeicheck.com/imei-blacklist-check

if it comes back as black listed there is nothing you can do.

[lilalur]

I want to be able to use it on any network. I bought it from CEX in 2019 - so it has been mine for many years. I have no issue using the phone with the EE network it's not blacklisted and I still have the original receipt about the purchase (thankfully I store everything).

[lilalur]

Thank you the phone was bought from a legit second-hand store, CEX does extensive background checks, and it's been mine since 2019 (it's not some recent purchase). I myself used it for years before and I have no issue using it with an EE sim. I want to unlock it and give it to my daughter as I don't use it anymore... I checked it again with an EE sim and its working well.

[Chris_B]

@lilalur  Then you should just be able to use THIS    

Who ever you spoke with at EE just fobbed you off.  They obviously don’t know what they are doing or should be doing and don’t know the rules of unlocking a device,  I hope you get this resolved.  Perhaps calling again might get you someone with more experience on this. 

[lilalur]

I did that first and this thing got me to the third stage where it was supposed to give me the unlock code but instead, I got an empty box:

 and the Unlock device just leads me to an empty page (about:blank) I can email myself the code however but the device still gets no unlock from EE so even with the code my device is still shown as locked and I can't make or receive calls with it. I tried with multiple browsers, logged in logged out. On my phone...etc. All the same result.  The person I talked with tried the same tool with the same result then I asked if I could speak with his supervisor to maybe he could help me but he refused to speak with me 😞 

[XRaySpeX]

EE doesn't unlock it for you. It just supplies the unlock code for you to unlock ir yourself. When you insert a non-EE SIM it will ask you to key the unlock code in.

That "Unlock your Device" should just lead to instructions telling just that.